


Almost

by mmaree



Series: Money Moves [2]
Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Boss/Employee Relationship, Boys Kissing, Businessman Liam Payne, Companion Piece, Fake/Pretend Relationship, Light Angst, M/M, POV Liam, Secretary Zayn Malik, Valentine's Day
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-28
Updated: 2019-02-28
Packaged: 2019-11-06 18:31:41
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,108
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17944913
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mmaree/pseuds/mmaree
Summary: Liam knowsexactlywhat he wants...or does he?Or, the Valentine's charity ball scene from Money Moves from Liam's POV.





	Almost

**Author's Note:**

> This is a companion piece to [Money Moves](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13549374/chapters/31087848). I suppose it can be read as a stand alone piece; however, if you are planning on reading Money Moves, DO NOT read this until you finish reading that fic as it does contain spoilers.
> 
> FYI, I originally wrote this as an exercise drabble before writing chapter 5 of Money Moves. If you want to read the published scene from Zayn's POV, you can do so [HERE](https://archiveofourown.org/works/13549374/chapters/31097679/). (The Valentine's scene starts after the second section break in chapter 5.)

 

“Ready, Zayn?”

Liam stands before the open door of the limousine, waiting for Zayn to accept the hand he’s extended.  They’ve just arrived at the Valentine’s charity ball, and Zayn’s eyes go wide as he takes it all in. 

Liam’s long past being impressed by any of this, by all the pomp and circumstance, but as he scans the red carpet, even _he_ has to admit that the organisers of the ‘event of the season’ outdid themselves.  Anyone who is anyone is there, rubbing shoulders with London’s elite, and as Liam turns back to his secretary/fake fiancé, he’s afraid Zayn’s not going to get out of the limo. 

“Yeah, ‘m ready,” Zayn replies at last, and Liam breathes a sigh of relief as he helps his date out of the car.  The other boy’s barely on his feet, however, when a photographer comes out of nowhere and a blinding flash goes off right in Zayn’s face. 

Liam’s first instinct is to tear the asshole apart limb from limb, then feed him to the lions in Regent’s Park.  But when he sees Zayn, looking panicked and shaken, Liam forgets all about the stupid bloody pap.

Zayn stumbles forward, and Liam’s there in an instant.  He places a hand on the small of Zayn’s back, coaxing him through the crowd and towards the front entrance of the hotel.  Liam can feel the anxiety radiating off the other boy as Zayn grips onto Liam’s waist likes he’s holding on for dear life, and it just enrages him more.  He looks over his shoulder, spots the idiot pap again, and gives the man a death glare.

They make it inside, ten thousand flashes later, and Liam ducks into the first hallway he sees, pulling Zayn along with him.  Once they’re alone, he gives Zayn some space, gives him a chance to calm down (and a chance for Liam to _cool_ down).

“The fuck was that about?” Zayn asks shakily, and Liam’s amazed that he doesn’t know, doesn’t realise.

“Ah, there are a ton of celebrities at this thing—footballers, pop stars, the lot,” Liam replies as if that’s the full answer to Zayn’s question.  “There’s a ridiculous amount of paps, and apparently, they’re all assholes.” 

Liam _doesn’t_ say what must be blatantly clear to everyone within a ten-mile radius (everyone except the doe-eyed boy standing before him).  He doesn’t say that everyone out there wanted a picture of Zayn—not because he’s Liam’s fiancé, a.k.a., ‘the one who finally captured the playboy CTO’s heart’—but because he’s _Zayn_.  Liam doesn’t tell the clueless boy what should be common knowledge, that Zayn’s the most gorgeous man— _person_ , really—at the entire bloody event, that it's almost criminal the man _isn't_ a celebrity. 

It shouldn't be hard to suss out, not for someone as clever as Zayn, but it is.  It always is.  Liam wagers the other boy will probably laugh about all this tomorrow, be gobsmacked when he finds photographs of himself in the paper and online.  Knowing Zayn, he’ll say something offhand about how he didn't go to uni to end up as a trophy wife.

And Liam will laugh along, even though it hurts a little, even though he wishes things were different. 

He suddenly realises Zayn’s staring at him then, and Liam forces himself to meet the other boy’s questioning eyes. 

“We can leave if you want.”

“No, I’m fine,” Zayn swears, but Liam isn’t so sure.  Zayn still looks rattled, still seems like he’s not quite recovered from the shitstorm outside.  “This…this is important.  Walters is here and everything, yeah?”

“Yeah, but….”  Liam holds himself back from saying what he really wants to say.  He wants to leave because despite Zayn’s insistences, the boy looks anything but ‘fine.’ 

Leaving now would be a piss-poor decision, of course, but Liam’s willing to forget about this whole event, forget about the thousands of pounds he’s dropped just for the opportunity to sit at a table with Jim Walters, CTO of Titan Technologies.  It’s the chance he’s been waiting for—well, not ‘waiting’ exactly.  Liam doesn’t ‘wait.’  He strives.  He works had.  He makes his own luck.

And in a blink of an eye, he’d be willing to throw all that time and effort away.  If Zayn asked him to.  If Zayn—

“I’m _fine_ , Leeyum,” Zayn repeats, sounding much more like himself again.  “Now, let’s go in that ballroom and show them who the best CT-motherfucking-O in Britain is, yeah?”  With a devious grin, Zayn sticks a finger under Liam’s tie and flips it free from his waistcoat before Liam can stop him.  

“Cheeky bastard,” Liam chuckles, shaking his head as he tucks his tie back in place.

“Takes one to know one.”

Liam reaches for the other boy’s hand, not because he should but because he wants to, because he could use a little reassuring at the moment himself.  Because suddenly, the tables are turned and _he’s_ the nervous one. 

“Alright, here we go,” Liam announces, fighting the apprehension seeping under his skin by holding Zayn’s hand a little tighter, by telling himself he deserves the CTO position at Titan (because he does).  “Showtime.”

 

£.£.£.

 

Liam should be paying more attention to what Walters is saying.  He started off on the right foot, striking up a conversation with the CEO of Titan technologies almost immediately after they were seated, but now it’s taking all of Liam’s focus and energy to stay engaged.  It’s not that Walters is boring—as a matter of fact, Liam _likes_ Walters, probably more than he should.  Walters is also ten times the chief executive Dan Payne is.  (Although admittedly, that isn’t much of a compliment.  Liam’s dead certain his uncle couldn’t organise a fire in a match factory.) 

The fact is, Liam keeps getting distracted by his date who’s currently engrossed in a conversation with Alan, Walters’ husband.  Liam is distracted by the way the other boy’s mouth moves when he’s talking, by the way his hazel eyes light up whenever he’s excited about something, by all the things he keeps revealing about himself to Alan during the course of dinner.  Important things.  Unimportant things.  Things Liam doesn’t know but wants to….

It’s no surprise that he mucks up and has to ask Walters to repeat a question.  After that, he vows not to make an own goal again, and it works…for a while.  But then, Liam becomes distracted _again_ , this time by the way Zayn looks in that stupid Armani tux.  Yeah, it's one of the reasons Liam asked his secretary to enter into this arrangement with him, but it's also one of the reasons Liam almost _didn’t_ ask him.  The problem is, Liam can't keep his eyes off Zayn whenever they're in a room together, whenever Zayn looks like _that_ , whenever—

“You’re quite smitten with him, aren’t you, my boy?” Walters asks with smiling eyes. 

Liam starts to stammer back an apology, but Walters waves him off.

“Don’t be silly,” the CEO reprimands, dropping his voice so the others won’t overhear.  “I remember how it is, to be young and in love on Valentine’s Day,” he says wistfully.  “Now I’m old and in love,” he continues, eyes crinkling at the corners, “and it’s a helluva lot less stress.” 

Walters cackles delightedly, as if enjoying an inside joke, before fixing his watery-blue eyes on Zayn.  When he turns back to Liam, he’s wearing a fatherly stern expression, one that almost makes Liam ache for his own father (not that he’d allow himself to go there).  “Son, you’re a lucky man; I hope you know that.”

“I do, sir,” Liam answers, but the words feel hollow.  He steals a glance at Zayn who catches his eye and smiles.  Liam can’t tell if it’s genuine or just for Walters’ benefit, but it feels real to Liam.  It’s a smile that makes him want to be a better person, to be the person his father wanted him to be, the person he might have become if his life hadn’t taken a sharp left turn when his dad died and his uncle took everything from him: his mum, his childhood home, the business, his father’s legacy, _his_ legacy, the family name…

 _Everything_.

He doesn’t know why he’s thinking about all this now when he hasn’t for years.  Maybe it’s because of the time he spent with Zayn’s family recently, how it brought back some of the good memories from his childhood instead of just the old, familiar wounds.

Liam twirls his fork around his half-eaten plate and sighs.  Sometimes he wonders if it's worth it.  Then he reminds himself that being a CTO for a company like Titan is all he's ever wanted.  Despite his less-than-stellar performance tonight, he can see how he's almost closed the deal with Walters, how Zayn’s charmed everyone around them without even knowing.  Zayn, with his heart, and his quirky comments, and his cheekbones.

_Those cheekbones._

Liam snaps out of it when Walters laughs boisterously at something Alan’s just said.  He needs to refocus.  Liam’s meant to be impressing Walters right now.  That’s the reason he’s here.  (The _only_ reason he’s here.)

They talk business, exchange opinions on a recent article they’ve both read from the _Financial Times_.  Inevitably, the conversation shifts back to the joint venture between Titan Technologies and Payne Innovations that Liam’s spearheading.  Everything’s going well until Walters says something that makes Liam’s blood turn cold:

“Jones will be retiring near the end of the year so you might contact Tomlinson with any follow-ups on the project after we launch.”

Out of the corner of his eye, Liam sees Zayn stiffen next to him.  The other boy’s heard it, too, Walters’ declaration that Jones, the current CTO of Titan, will be retiring _much_ later than they thought.  Zayn surreptitiously scoots his chair closer to Liam’s and leans into him.  Liam knows what Zayn’s thinking because he’s thinking it, too.  Their ‘wedding’ is set for May the fourth (and yes, Liam’s currently cursing the nerd in him that made him spout that particular date when that Tomlinson git had him against the ropes).  Jones _has_ to retire before that.  All Liam’s carefully-laid plans depend on _Jones retiring in April._

Liam doesn’t hear the rest of what Walters’ says as he waits for an opportunity to question the man, hoping Walters just misspoke.  “That’s funny,” Liam says, trying to make it sound casual, like he doesn’t have his entire fucking future riding on the CEO’s answer.  “I heard Jones was retiring the first of April.”

“That rumour must have been an April Fool’s Day joke,” the American businessman cracks.  “Technically, she’s able to retire in April; however, she wants to tie up all the projects she’s got going—you know, all those annoying loose ends.”  The older man leans over the table and lowers his voice a notch.  “To tell you the God’s honest truth, I’m damned relieved she’s staying on a little longer.  I’ve got head-hunters searching high and low for a decent replacement, and they haven’t come up with one Goddamn candidate I’d even _consider_ inviting to join the Titan family.”

Walters squints at him, and Liam hopes he’s thinking what Liam’s thinks he’s thinking.  “Payne, I know this might be out of line, but if you know anyone, feel free to forward their names to me.”

Even if Liam knew of anyone better suited for the job of Titan CTO—which he doesn’t—he’d hardly tell Walters.  “Of course,” Liam returns smoothly.  “What type of person were you looking to fill the position?”

“Someone with your experience and qualifications basically,” Walters replies.  “And more importantly, someone who represents the Titan brand.”  He peers at Liam again, rubbing his chin thoughtfully.  “Basically, someone like you, Payne.”

“Why thank you, sir.  I’ll let you know if I think of anyone,” Liam responds, taking a sip from his wineglass to cover the way his lips keep wanting to curl up at the ends.

Alan turns to ask his husband a question, and Liam takes a moment to reflect on everything Walters has just told him over the last five or so minutes.  There was the bad news of Jones’ delayed retirement, but there was also something that made him realise he’s got a proper good shot at bagging the Titan job if he plays his cards right.

But with a couple of drinks in him and Zayn in that Armani tux at his shoulder, this is no time to be thinking about future career moves.

He’ll sort through all of it tomorrow.  (He always thinks better in the morning anyway.)

 

£.£.£.

 

Finally, they’re alone.

Technically, they’re just alone at their table in a very crowded ballroom.  It’s not exactly unusual, the fact that Zayn and him are alone, because they work together and live together, but it feels…different tonight.  They’ve been chatting, more easily than in recent weeks even, and it’s Valentine’s, and Liam keeps forgetting that they’re not actually on a date.

And maybe that’s why he asks Zayn to dance.

“I don’t dance,” is Zayn’s dismissive response which Liam thinks is perfectly ridiculous. 

“Come on then,” he urges.  “If you can feel the rhythm, you can dance, Zayn.”  He’s heard Zayn sing—rap, too.  Bloody hell, Liam’s secretary even _types_ to a rhythm.

Zayn’s adamant though.  “Nope.  Not happening.”

Liam rises to his feet and begins to shimmy his hips, more teasing than serious.  Still, Zayn’s watching him closely, and Liam can tell the other boy wants to ignore his inhibitions and let loose as well.  (Liam didn’t get this far in life by taking ‘no’ for an answer.  In fact, there’s only one place where Liam takes ‘no’ for an answer; everything else is negotiable.) 

He pulls Zayn to the dancefloor, and the other boy follows as Liam knew he would.  It’s not long before Zayn’s laughing along with him as Liam breaks out moves he hasn’t used since he was fourteen. 

A short time later, Liam’s deduced that Zayn wasn’t exaggerating for once: the boy _is_ pretty shit at dancing, but Liam thinks it’s all the more endearing.  It actually puts Liam more at ease, finding _something_ the other boy isn’t a natural at.  Then again, it might just be because Zayn’s a little tipsy. 

When the song changes to something slower, Zayn’s gaze shifts towards their table, then back to him again.  Liam can’t read the look on the other boy’s face, so he edges closer. 

“What you thinking?”

“You smell nice,” Zayn hums, catching him off guard.

Liam chuckles, guesses Zayn’s a little more pissed than he previously assumed.  “Should do.  I’m wearing the cologne you bought me for Christmas.”

“S’nice.”

Liam steps closer and wraps an arm around the other boy who practically falls into his arms.  They slow-dance, Zayn following Liam’s lead, as soft, romantic music swells, filling the ballroom. 

Too soon, the song ends and Zayn starts to pull away, but Liam stops him.  “Don’t go,” he whispers against the other boy’s cheek. “Dance with me, just a little longer….”

Zayn’s only answer is to rest his head on Liam’s shoulder, but it’s the only answer Liam was looking for.  They move together, and Liam marvels at how well they fit, how well they’ve always fit whenever they weren’t battling each other over nothing at all.  And that’s when it hits him.

He wants Zayn.

It’s nothing new, but the feeling is stronger than ever.  It’s uncontrollable.  He wants Zayn, but he wants more than just a frenzied fuck in a hotel room.  He wants more than the almost-friendship they’ve forged in recent weeks, too.

He wants it all.

Then Liam remembers how bad he is at this, how he's stumbled through anything that's lasted more than a weekend.  Liam wasn't built for relationships; it’s not in his D.N.A.

That’s why Liam hasn’t a clue as to why he’s kissing Zayn, right there in the middle of the dance floor, or why Zayn’s kissing him back, arms wrapped loosely around Liam’s neck as time stands still.

Their lips stop moving, but Liam doesn’t want to pull away.  Not yet.  “Should get you home,” he murmurs against lightly-chapped lips, and Liam’s torn.  He can’t wait to get this boy home, can’t wait to do all the things he’s fantasised about doing to him since Bradford.  But at the same time, he doesn’t want to leave.  Because as mad as it sounds, it’s almost as if Liam’s found ‘home’ already, right there on the dancefloor, in Zayn’s arms, on Zayn’s lips….

And then someone coughs loudly to his left. 

Liam pivots around to find Walters standing there wearing a massive grin.  The CEO apologises for the interruption before making his goodbyes, but Liam only half-listens; his mind is elsewhere.  Once Walters is gone, Liam immediately turns back to Zayn, but he isn’t prepared for what he sees. 

Zayn looks detached, almost cool.  “Well, I guess we’re all done here,” the boy declares without emotion, and Liam’s heart sinks.

“Yes,” he struggles out, wishing Zayn wasn’t _quite_ so good at playing the part Liam hired him to play.  “I’ll ring the driver and meet you in the lobby in five.”  Liam doesn’t wait for an answer; he just bolts like he’s leaving the scene of an accident. 

For a brief, bliss-filled moment, he had thought the kiss was real, that it might have meant something to Zayn, but of course it didn’t.  Liam’s paying Zayn to do a job, to act the part of his fiancé in public, and he can’t forget that.  He can’t let the lines get blurred, not again. 

Liam makes his call in the lobby.  As he waits for the limo to arrive, he once again reminds himself that being a CTO for a company like Titan is all he’s ever wanted.

Except now, he knows that’s not true.  He also wants Zayn.  It scares him how much this boy has crept under his skin, upsetting his comfortable, well-ordered existence.  As a matter of fact, Liam can hardly imagine a life _without_ Zayn now (and he doesn’t want to try).  But for however long the stupid bloody contract stands, for however long this fake engagement lasts, it will always be a wall between them. 

Liam takes a deep breath, takes heart in the fact that it can’t last forever.  The contract has to end soon.  A month, maybe two, and this will all be over, for better or for worse.

And maybe by that time, Liam will have figured out a way to make Zayn love him.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading. I was reluctant to publish this at first because, as I wrote in the notes above, this was intended as just an exercise drabble for my eyes only. As always, I sincerely appreciate your comments and kudos. And I'd love to know if you were surprised by anything! :) ~Maree xx
> 
> Come visit me on [Tumblr](http://zqua1d.tumblr.com/).


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